


on family

by bukkunkun



Series: The Metaverse Hotel and Casino [3]
Category: Persona 2, Persona 5
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Adoption, Alternate Universe - Foster Family, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, Cute Kids, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Gen, Light Angst, M/M, Parent-Child Relationship, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, the purest thing in the casino au tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-12
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-12-27 01:42:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12071100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bukkunkun/pseuds/bukkunkun
Summary: tie-in/spin-off to Beginner's Luck.A story of Akira's childhood, and how he met Morgana.Literally the purest thing in the casino au so far, very heavily p2-focused.





	on family

**Author's Note:**

> hi i thought this was a great idea (it still isn't) because i love expanding on things i will never get to explaining in the main fic lmao so here are all these expansion packs (at least they're free dlc lmao) you will need to have at least read up to [chapter 24 of Beginner's Luck](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11252271/chapters/27344451) to understand what's going on. i think.
> 
> this is really really fluffy. no warnings needed.

“I don’t know what he’ll say the moment we get home.”

Jun jumped slightly, looking up at his husband to see his stoic face, staring far ahead into the distance with a worry that had always been lurking under the surface. On their laps, little Akira snored quietly, fast asleep—drooling slightly on Tatsuya’s jeans, but the man paid it no mind.

“Tatsuya…” Jun sighed, and laced their fingers together. He squeezed his hand. “He’ll understand.”

The brunet looked at him, and Jun could only offer him a gentle smile. “Lisa and Eikichi are waiting for us at the station, they said.”

At the mention of their friends’ names, Tatsuya lit up, and he finally somewhat relaxed into their seat. “What about Maya?”

“She’ll catch up.” Jun chuckled, and Akira finally stirred.

“We there yet?” The boy mumbled, sitting up slowly, and his parents smiled at him fondly.

“Just a little longer.” Jun assured him, pressing a kiss to the boy’s temple. “We’ll be home soon.”

Home, he said. It’d felt like decades since they last Sumaru. What was it like now? Would it still look the same way they told Akira it did? Had anyone changed?

They stayed in relative silence after that, Akira quietly fiddling with a little toy they received from a kid’s meal they bought back in Tokyo. As the sky turned red and the sun was barely visible in the sky, the train rolled into Sumaru City, and a tired family of three stepped out of the station to be welcomed by a pair that was simply delighted to see them again.

Tatsuya finally cracked a smile as he watched Lisa tackle Jun and Akira together in a hug, and after a hearty fistbump with Eikichi, took the brunt of Lisa’s affection.

“We’ve missed you both,” Jun said warmly, greeting Eikichi with a wave, and the man grinned.

“Same here.” He gave them a thumbs-up. “God, you two are _married_ now. It’s so… weird.”

“Weird how?” Lisa pouted, now having let go of Tatsuya to carry a sleepy-looking Akira. The boy easily warmed up to her, her visage a familiar sight after seeing her on TV so often. “Being a married man suits Tacchi a whole lot!”

“Yeah, I know,” Eikichi laughed, “It’s just… man, we’ve all just grown up now, haven’t we?”

Tatsuya huffed softly. “I guess we all have.” He watched Akira finally fall asleep completely on Lisa’s shoulder, and the blonde giggled.

“He’s adorable.” She said quietly, “He’s grown so big now.”

“Yes.” Jun chuckled, taking the boy from her gently, carrying him with ease.

“Sooner or later, he’ll be asking for a little brother.” Eikichi winked at them, and both Jun and Tatsuya blushed deeply. “Bet you’ll be doing your damnedest to try giving him one, eh?”

“Oh, my god. You’re disgusting.” Lisa snickered, and that earned Eikichi a smack to his side from a flustered Tatsuya. “Come on, guys. You haven’t had dinner yet, right? It’s on me!”

* * *

Like their departure from Sumaru, their arrival had been kept a secret, right to the last moment. Maya gave the two men an apologetic smile, looking over her shoulder at them from where she sat in the front passenger seat, and next to her, Ulala sighed.

“I’m sure he’ll understand.” Maya said reassuringly, and Tatsuya couldn’t meet her eye. Jun squeezed his hand, and with sombre, ginger goodbyes, the young Suou family got out of the car and headed to the front doors of the older Suou family. Maya and Ulala stayed behind on the curb, watching them go up to the door, and Jun gave Tatsuya a supportive smile.

“He’s family, Tatsuya.” He whispered, and Akira, asleep in his arms, snorted quietly. “He’ll understand.”

Tatsuya took a deep breath, and rang the doorbell.

There was a long, tense moment of silence, and the door opened to reveal Katsuya, still fully dressed, fresh home from a long day at work.

His eyes widened at the sight of them, and Tatsuya couldn’t meet his eye as he spoke.

“Hello.” He said quietly. “We’re… home.”

There was a brief beat of hesitation, a split-second of awkward indecision, and finally someone moved—

Katsuya pulled his little brother into his arms, holding back tears as he took a deep, shuddering breath.

“Welcome home.” He sighed, and their family was whole again.

* * *

Akira was young, mischievous, and full of energy. Full of brightness and laughter and love at 7, he was quite the little adventurer, exploring his new home away from Tokyo with stark determination. His family back in Tokyo had been pleasantly big—but his family in Sumaru was just as loving, and warm. He had no problems settling in, not when his new aunts and uncles—Aunt Maya, Aunt Ulala, Aunt Lisa, Aunt Yukki, Uncle Eikichi and Uncle Katsuya—they were all warm and kind, and Akira could not wish for a better family.

One evening, not long after they had moved into the Suou residence in Sumaru, Akira found himself alone in the living room, the TV now off and silent after the week’s Featherman episode came to an end. He got up, pouting in thought as he looked around the room—his fathers were missing, and his uncle wasn’t at his spot at the couch, where he last saw him.

His eyes widened. Perhaps it was the beginning of a little adventure—young Akira Suou, tasked to find his loved ones after losing them in the darkness!

Determination surged through the boy, and he huffed proudly, puffing out his chest. He’ll find them—his father was a police officer, and he helped people on a daily basis. If he was anything like him, Akira knew he would find his family.

He would save them, just like the Featherman heroes on TV!

He jumped in place a few times, getting himself ready for an adventure, before bravely striding into the dark house. It was evening, now, dinner having long finished, and it was nearing time for Akira to go to bed. However, tonight, no one was around to pick him up, protesting, to tuck him into bed, and that wasn’t right.

He loved the way Tatsuya picked him up, the sound of an airplane coming from his unmoving lips as he flew Akira around their house, Akira the pilot of his own jetliner taking instructions from Tatsuya, the air traffic control officer.

He loved it when Jun took his hand, leading him gently to his room with a beautiful story that  continued as he brushed his teeth, got changed and into bed, sometimes not even ending as Akira slipped into the land of dreams.

He loved his cops-and-robbers mission with Katsuya, Akira playing a phantom thief on his way to a heist—to steal all the stuffed animals on his bed. Katsuya would always let him win, tucking him under the covers with a warm, “I’ll get you next time, Phantom Thief.”

As much as Akira loved protesting bedtime, he always loved the moments he spent with his family—there was no way he could go to bed without their usual routine, it wasn’t _right_. With them missing somehow, he had to get someone back to go to bed properly!

He snuck up the stairs like he used to with Katsuya, humming a dangerous theme under his breath as he crawled up the sides of the planks—to keep quiet, Katsuya said.

“Mission control, do you copy?” He muttered under his breath. Tatsuya said pilots regularly called air traffic to get a hold of the situation, but Tatsuya’s reply didn’t come. “No,” he hissed, “They got you too.”

Akira shook his head, and imagined himself this time as a super-spy, like one in the stories Jun used to tell him. He had a favourite—Arsene Lupin, a phantom thief, of all things, and Jun had taken the liberty of inserting the character in a myriad of stories at Akira’s request. Sometimes, Arsene Lupin was a prince, off to save his kingdom—sometimes, he was an astronaut in space, exploring the unknown. Sometimes, he was pirate, sailing on the open seas, and sometimes, he was a super-spy. The story always changed, and now, Akira was writing his own story.

Carefully he crept towards his parents’ room, and found the door ajar. Light streamed out from between the door and its frame, and he lit up when he saw it.

Ah, a light—maybe the fiend who took his family was there.

He made his way closer to it, and listened in carefully.

“Why did you come home?” Katsuya’s voice, soft with worry, and Akira paused.

“Huh?” he muttered. Didn’t they come home because Tatsuya and Jun simply wanted to? The theatre Jun worked at was closed now, so he and Tatsuya went home—wasn’t that all there was to it?

“I’m sorry, Katsuya-san, it’s my fault.” Jun said, voice broken, and Akira froze.

“What did he mean?” he asked weakly.

“No, it’s not your fault.” Tatsuya, this time, firm and steadfast as always. “Big brother, you know about Masayoshi Shido, right? Surely you’ve heard about what he’s been doing, even all the way out here.”

Masayoshi Shido? Akira didn’t know anyone named that.

“Yes.” Katsuya sighed, but then he gasped. “No, don’t tell me—you two—”

“I’m sorry.” Jun said again, softer. “It’s… it’s really my fault. I shouldn’t have—”

“Jun.” Tatsuya cut him off, firm, but not cruel. “Don’t. Big brother, listen—the theatre was intentionally burned down. The Nijimas were murdered, along with Isshiki-san.”

Katsuya hissed. “I knew it.”

“There’s… a debt.” Jun continued. “A loan shark—Kaneshiro? He was Shido’s all along. We couldn’t—everyone at the theatre, we…” He broke off into a sob, and Akira jumped.

Why was his papa crying? What was wrong? What was happening?

“Oh, god.” Katsuya breathed. “Are the rest of the troupe safe? Is that—is that why you came home?”

“I’m sorry.” Tatsuya was the one to apologise, this time. “I ran away from you once, and now I’m imposing my family onto you, I understand if you—”

“Tatsuya.” Katsuya sighed. “We’re _family_. I will always help you.”

“I…” Akira held his breath at the sound of his father’s hesitation. “Thank you. So much.”

“Of course.” Katsuya’s voice had a smile in it. “So you three are here to keep yourselves safe?” A pause. “Alright, then. I will do whatever it takes to help you three.”

“Thank you, Katsuya-san. Th-thank you, so much.”

Akira squeezed his eyes shut, feeling tears prickle the corners of them. He didn’t want to hear more of this—

The spy could tuck himself into bed, at least just for tonight.

* * *

“I want a little brother.”

It was a quiet Sunday morning when Akira opened the discussion at the breakfast table, gingerly holding his steaming mug of hot chocolate in small hands. Katsuya choked, spitting coffee into his mug, and Jun dropped his butter knife onto his lap. Only Tatsuya remained calm, nodding.

“That sounds like a good idea.” He said plainly, and his brother and husband blinked at him. Akira beamed, and he stood up on his chair.

“Can we? Really?” the boy asked excitedly, bouncing on his place, and Jun reached out at him to keep him steady. “For reals? No joke?”

“Well, it would be difficult,” Katsuya began, and Akira deflated. “B-but not impossible!” He tacked on quickly in panic, shaking his head. “N-not impossible. Maybe just… not very soon.”

Akira frowned at that, sitting down again on his seat, and Jun stroked his hair.

“I’m sorry, Akira, we just moved—it’ll be hard to support another child at the time being.” Jun said, and Akira pouted up at his father. “Maybe sometime in the future, okay?”

“… Okay.”

* * *

“So, what does family mean to you?” The teacher asked pleasantly, and Akira blinked for a few times, before looking down at the paper he held up to show the class.

“Family… is my dad, my papa, Uncle Katsuya…” He paused, pointing at himself in his drawing, and he sighed. “And… a little brother.”

“Ooh, a little brother? Do you want a little brother, Akira-kun?”

“Yeah…” Akira mumbled, and she nodded, patting his head.

“You can ask your fathers about it—I’m sure they’ll understand.”

“But I…”

“They’re family, Akira-kun. They will _always_ help you.”

* * *

“I… want a little brother.” Akira said determinedly, standing on Jun and Tatsuya’s bed one Friday morning, and the two men jolted awake. They scrambled to get the covers up properly, trying to cover up their nakedness from their son, and quickly Tatsuya sat up to squeeze Akira’s shoulders. “Dad,” he said, looking into Tatsuya’s eyes, interrupting him before he could speak. “I want a little brother.”

“Akira,” he began, cutting himself off and shaking his head. “What’s this about?”

“I want a little brother.” He repeated, firmer, like how Tatsuya would speak. He hesitated for a moment, and more gingerly, added, “Please.”

“Oh, Akira.” Jun sighed fondly, sitting up to cup Akira’s face in his hand. “We’re sorry, we really are. But please, give us more time to get settled, okay? We’ll find a little brother for you soon.”

“Can’t you just _make_ one?” Akira asked desperately, and the two men flushed deeply.

“A-alright,” Jun said, “To breakfast for you, young man. Go downstairs, now—Uncle Katsuya will want to know what you want to eat today.”

Akira pouted, but reluctantly got off the bed to head downstairs. The door clicked shut behind him, and Jun sighed exasperatedly.

“Tatsuya, do you think Akira’s lonely?”

The brunet frowned thoughtfully, humming.

“We’ve been doing all we can, but I just…” Jun shook his head. “Maybe it’s not enough?”

“We’ll ask around for help.” Tatsuya said, “It’s no use mulling over it right now.”

“You’re right.” Jun smiled tiredly, but it dropped off his face as confusion replaced it, when Tatsuya turned to grin at him slightly. “Tatsuya?”

“So, making a baby, huh?”

* * *

Over the years, Akira consistently asked his parents for a brother, but to no avail. It wasn’t until he turned 12—on his birthday itself—when Tatsuya and Jun took him somewhere new—

Particularly, an orphanage.

Akira lit up.

“Happy birthday, Akira.” Jun smiled at him sweetly. “Today, you’re going to help us find you a little brother.”

“R-really?” He asked softly, almost disbelievingly, and Tatsuya nodded, ruffling his hair.

“Go on, talk to the kids.” he said, “Make sure to get to know all of them, okay?”

Akira lit up, nodding. Hurriedly he planted a kiss to his fathers’ cheeks, and rushed into the groups of children in the large yard.

Beside Tatsuya and Jun, the elderly caretaker chuckled softly. “What a sweet child,” she said. “His brother is very lucky to have him.”

“Yes.” Tatsuya smiled slowly, watching Akira quickly befriend the children. “He is.”

* * *

Akira couldn’t choose—they were all so nice, so friendly and happy, he couldn’t not have a sad time with them. Laughing tiredly, he excused himself from the group for a moment to take a breather, jogging away from the gaggle of boys playing soccer to see his fathers seated on a bench. He lit up and gave them a wave, and he saw Jun wave back at him happily.

He waved back at them, laughing softly as he turned around—and realised there was another child seated at the corner of the yard, staring down at a bunch of wildflowers bundled in his hand. He looked so young—almost 4 years old, maybe, and Akira’s heart sank when he realised he’d missed someone from the group he’d been playing with—if the boy was playing at all.

With a determined huff, Akira made his way over to him, and the boy looked up at him, wide-eyed. Akira gaped too, alarmed at the sharp ice blue colour of his eyes, and the boy immediately dodged away from him.

“H-hey!” Akira stammered, grabbing his shoulder, and the boy peered at him witheringly.

“What…” he said quietly, and Akira deflated, rubbing his arm.

“You, um… you’re not playing?” He asked, and the boy didn’t even look the other boys’ way.

“They don’t want me to.” He replied. “They said I look weird.”

Akira blinked at him, looking at the way his big blue eyes looked so lonely, so remorseful, and smiled slowly.

“Are you lonely?” He asked, and the boy looked up at him. He gasped when he saw tears forming in Akira’s eyes, and he could only gape as Akira knelt down to hold his hands. “Because… I’m lonely too.” He said, “My family loves me, but it’s not the same without a sibling. I have tons of classmates who have siblings, and they care for each other a lot, and they rely on each other.” He wiped at his eyes, laughing sadly. “There’s just… things you can’t tell your parents, you know?”

Like how he overheard them talking about the real reason they went to Sumaru.

Like how he knew how sad it made Jun to not perform again.

Like how he knew how hard Tatsuya and Katsuya were working themselves to fight the person who made their family… bent, but not broken.

“I…” the boy hesitated, and nodded. “Yeah, I know.” He replied, gingerly taking Akira’s hand and squeezing it. “I am.” He admitted, “I’m so, so lonely—my parents threw me out, no one likes me because my eyes are weird.”

“M-my parents can take you in.” Akira said, and the boy gaped at him. “I think your eyes are cool.” He smiled shakily at him, and squeezed his hand. “I’m Akira. Can I be your big brother?”

The boy blinked at him, and slowly started to smile. It looked exactly like Akira’s.

“I’m Morgana.” He said, “I… I’d really like to be your little brother.”

Akira’s smile widened, and he nodded. “I-I’m glad. C’mon, let’s play soccer—and if they bully you, I’ll—I’ll,” he couldn’t help but giggle slightly, “I’ll beat their butts in.”

“Yeah.” Morgana seemed to start blooming with joy now, and Akira couldn’t be happier to know he was the one who made him like that. “Th-thanks.”

They helped each other onto their feet, and Akira looked at his little brother.

“Let’s go, Morgana. Promise—I’ll _always_ help you.”

Morgana’s smile was positively radiant.

“I know you will.”

**Author's Note:**

> can you tell i'm not good at writing children lmao
> 
> also this was written in a single night.


End file.
